Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

So, there are so many ways you can save money for your wedding. It is just being very creative, imaginative, organized and aware of where your money is going. One thing to do is to make a decision of where you don’t want cut the cost. i.e. your wedding dress or cake. Then, from there, narrow down or rank the main things by priority so you can see where you can cut costs. i.e. the centerpieces or table linens or even your save the dates.

 

Finding DIY wedding websites is such an easy task and I recommend taking time to find them. I have listed in earlier posts where you can find wedding websites but site for DIY weddings are out there too. For example, ProjectWedding. This is a DIY wedding website and it has ideas from centerpieces, to fabric flowers to ideas for a candy bar!

 

Cutting costs doesn’t have to be stressful or unsatisfying. It can be easy as long as you understand your budget and what you are willing to cut costs on! So have fun, stay calm and organized and you’ll get through this! 🙂

Beautify yourself- by yourself continued!

Ok, so last post I talked about and posted videos of ideas on doing your own makeup! Today I found some great and useful videos of how to do your own makeup for your big day! Doing this yourself, or having one of your bridesmaids or someone close to you do this for you, can help save you some money! 🙂

 

 

Again, practice, practice, practice! There is no reason why you can’t save some money and do some of these things yourself! You guys can do it! 🙂 These are only a few of the hundreds of videos that are out there! So don’t forget to search!

Beautify yourself- all by yourself!

Sorry I haven written in a while! But, I have found some great ideas for doing your hair and makeup yourself for your big day! Now, if you are planning on doing this yourself, make sure you practice, practice, practice! And don’t give up until it’s exactly how you want it!

For updos, try these!

For other hairstyles try something like these:

Now you can get ideas for hairstyles anywhere. As you can see, these videos are from youtube. You can also get inspirations from pinterest.com!

Technology- Bride’s best friend and it’s FREE! :)

Let’s see! We are all trying to save money on everything we do. So why not think of your options for your wedding! The internet should become your best friend when you are planning your wedding– because it’s free! 🙂

Websites like Pinterest and Weheartit  are a great way to keep your thoughts organized! You can search and find pictures of ideas or things you like and keep it organized! It is free and user friendly! I have found so many cute and affordable ideas and was able to keep them organized by category!  WIN-WIN!

Websites like Etsy are a good way to look through pictures by categories as well. You aren’t able to keep these organized on this website, but you can save the pictures to your computer and then upload them to Pinterest. ->another great reason to use pinterest! 🙂

So don’t fret if you don’t want to go out and buy all the bride magazines or even theknot.com magazine because it is online! You can always ask friends who have gotten married recently if they have any contacts or bride magazines that you can borrow! I have a friend at work who has given me several different contacts and is letting me borrow TONS of bride magazines! It never hurts to ask! 🙂

Reception? Centerpieces!

The reception can mean very different things to different people. To fiance and I want our reception to be a party, a celebration and a wonderful and fun time! So for us, the reception atmosphere is summery and light. As much of my wedding, I am doing much of it myself. So for our centerpieces, I am continuing to use daisies in watering cans or silver pans such as these:

You can find watering cans like this all over the place, especially garden stores. A lot of craft stores also have things like this you can use and paint on 🙂

You can find silver pales or any kind of pale like this anywhere as well. You can use fake grass if you wish, but you can grow your own grass if you have the time and energy to keep it up. Monkey grass or wheat grass are easy, inexpensive and easy to care for!

You can use other ideas of fruit in a glass jar to add a little color and something different to the table. Like this:

Doing things yourself doesn’t have to be difficult or hard. It just takes a little imagination and useful materials! Anything can be turned into something! 🙂

 

Stressed- Let’s de-stress! :)

So over the past few days/week, I have become stressed out about my wedding. Things have come up I.E. being told I don’t actually have the reception place after they told me I did…. AH! I know, it’s ok to be upset with me 🙂 I have been searching and searching and gather information…loads of it. And I thought I should post about this because this IS something that every bride goes through– STRESS!

The main and important thing to remember is when you realized you are stress, it is time to take a step back, remember the big picture and laugh, at something… ANYTHING! 🙂 It took my fiance telling me that it didn’t matter because either way, we would be together at the end of that day.. I know, sweet right? But I thought I would share some of my favorite things to watch when I get stressed.

ENJOY!

Jeff Dunham

Prank Wars

Mayhem!

Friends

Even music/music videos! Take a minute, listen to some music and dance crazy for 15 seconds, you will feel SO much better– and you’ll probably end up laughing at yourself.

Baby Got what?

TheLonelyIsland

And if none of these work….then.. take a nap or do anything BUT wedding stuff! Back away from the planner! 🙂

Great deals- What more could you ask for!

Money. Money. Money!

This word is has such a bad connotation to it! BUT if you use it correctly and budget, everything will be great!

Remember to stay organized. If you need help organizing a notebook for yourself, check out these sites and see what ideas work best for you and your style of organization

* Printable Calendar

* Organize organize organize

* Wedding Wire

There are also websites like:  

* Theknot

*The Wedding Channel

 For these, you have to be a member. It is free and is really useful and helpful! They both have a wedding planner/organizer and a budget organizer as well! This can definitely help you stay organized and on top of what you are spending!

There are a lot of books and organizers out there that you can buy, but if you use these tools and organize a binder yourself, you can do this for free. Most of these books cost a lot of money, so unless this is something you want to spend your money on, do it yourself! 🙂

Venues- here we come!

“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.”

Ok! Now, on to the planning! After you have thought about the date and looked through some wedding websites and magazine, it is time to start thinking about a venue!

To the bride on a budget, please understand that the venue does NOT have to “break the bank.” Understanding where to look is key (just like everything else!). If you attend church, and are wanting to get married in a church, this is the place to start. Most churches has discounts for their members! If this amount is still too high, it wouldn’t hurt to look around at other churches in the area. Churches usually don’t include anything in their prices except for renting out the church and/or room for the reception.

DISCLAIMER: If you are getting married in a church or want to, READ through and UNDERSTAND their policies. Some religions do not allow alcohol, dancing, etc. for receptions.

If you are not wanting to get married in a church, then locating other buildings in your area such as conference centers, etc. These will be more expensive, but some include photography, food, cake, etc. Not all include this, but some do.

For example:

-I am getting married and having my reception at a church near by. The cost to get married and use their Family Life Center for the reception was $1700.

– Another person I know is getting married her church and then having her reception in Douglasville, GA and everything but photography is included in hers for about $8000. 

It’s all about what you want and what you are wanting to spend. By doing your research, being a part of wedding websites, even thought they send emails almost everyday, can be very helpful!

Now, what do I do?

True love is spending one day getting married..and the rest of your life feeling glad you did!

Now that you have taken time to let everything sink in, it’s time start planning! So, choosing a date. This is the next step in planning and sets everything else in motion! Choosing a date depends on a lot of different things: season, time, preference, etc. If you are wanting a short engagement, then choosing something 6 months from now can work. If you know you will need more time or want more time then maybe a 10-12 month engagement is best! You also need to think about the seasons (if this is important to you).

After you have chosen a date, it’s time to think about what comes next!! I think anyone would say venues, which is true…BUT… I think the step before that would be to check out the wedding websites. The knot, The Wedding Channel, Davids Bridal etc. These websites are organized by categories that help you navigate through the site. They have different vendors, ideas, etc. throughout the sites that can help you make some decisions! Don’t get overwhelmed going through these sites, they are here to help, guide, etc. Whatever you want!

Weddings- Where do I start?

First things first- This is an exciting time in your life, so sit back and enjoy this time of being engaged! 🙂 Make sure you take time to digest everything that has happened and the future you have to look forward to! As a future bride, myself, I understand the stressful nature that planning a wedding can bring- especially if you are in school and work full time as I do!

“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.”

Remember, yes it is an important day, but the wedding doesn’t make the marriage. In my opinion, the first thing you should do before starting to plan your wedding is deciding on a budget! No amount is too small- like I said, having the right resources, you can have a BEAUTIFUL and MEMORABLE wedding for a small amount! So don’t stress!

You and I will make it through this time with a smile on our faces and a wonderful wedding day in the end- just have to go through a little bit of creative planning along the way!

So take this time, enjoy it, decide on a budget and let’s get to planning!